Texans round 1 pick: Pros and cons of drafting different positions

Most mock drafts have the Texans taking wide receiver in the first round. Unlike some previous years, I do not think there is any one obvious positional need in the first. And allegedly, the Texans philosophy is best available player though their drafts often resemble a need shopping list. Because I’m handy at looking at the pros and cons of decisions that aren’t certain, that’s what this blog post is about. I’m going to assemble the pros and cons of the Texans picking different positions in the first round.

I don’t have a strong view for the Texans picking any particular player, and I also think that fans shouldn’t overly obsess with what the team does at the top of the draft. Plenty of good players picked in lower rounds. I remember during the 2006 draft, as the rounds progressed, some Texans fans got angrier and angrier that the Texans weren’t picking Eric Winston. And then the Texans ended up getting him in with their second pick in the third round.

In any event, here are the pros and cons of picking different positions in the first round. Does any of it challenge your thinking? Have anything to add to it? Some of this could become repetitive, so I will admit some critiques that may apply to multiple positions.

Position of need. Mario Williams gone. In a pass-happy league, you can’t never have enough pass rushers. Texans were fortunate Connor Barwin and Brooks Reed both stayed healthy. Not a deep OLB draft. Number of 3-4 teams has increased which increases demand for OLBs. Barwin’s contract situation for next year. Quality linebackers can help with special teams.

Cons:

Ugh, Texans have been ignoring the offensive side of the ball with the draft for too long. Do all Texans first round picks need to be the draft equivalent of good for you brussel sprouts. Mix in a skill player. No OLBs worth the first round will likely be available where the Texans pick. No need to pick in the first round for a player that will project to be a back up.

Inside Linebacker.

Pros: DeMeco Ryans gone. Brian Cushing essential to last season, but has injury history (plays so hard). Linebacker is a position that rookies can become an immediate playmaker. A lack of quality depth at this position could create a problem with injuries.

Cons: Not a premium position. May not be any ILB available at 26 that are worth the pick. Other positions are of greater immediate need.

Defensive Line.

Pros: Supposed to be a deep defensive tackle draft. The Texans run defense in the middle could be improved. Defensive end depth is limited. Quality defensive lineman can be expensive to get in free agency so it is a premium position worth developing your own.

Cons: No offense to J.J. Watt, but Texans fans are sick of drafting defensive linemen. Other positions of greater need. Best defensive tackles likely off the board by that point, and not good value for 3-4 defensive ends at the bottom of the first in this draft. May be able to find quality depth with a value priced free agent pick up that can fit the system, and is more physically mature than a draft pick in early 20s.

Cornerback.

Pros: Premium position that you teams tend to overpay for in free agency. Pass-oriented league means corners have become more important. The best corners tend to be taken at the top of the draft–it is a position hard to find value in lower rounds. Do the Texans really believe in Kareem Jackson?

Cons: Do you trust the Texans drafting and developing corners? Still developing a group of DBs on the roster already. Corner has become less of a priority now that the Texans run a scheme that isn’t fundamentally unsound the second they break the huddle. Corner is a position difficult to become a playmaker right away–the Texans need to be less patient with their first round pick this year.

Offensive Line.

Pros: Briesel and Winston gone. Depth depleted. Brown and Butlers’ contract situation for next year. Tackles can be expensive positions worth picking in the first round.

Cons: One reason for running a predominantly zone blocking scheme is you don’t need the biggest, strongest guys to run it–the ones that some other teams covet and have to have. Plenty of non-first round guys have had success in this scheme. Not going to find a quality left tackle at the bottom of the first round in this draft. Want to draft a starter, playmaker in the first round.

Tight End.

Pros: Texans rely on the tight end position more than most teams in league, and run a ton of two tight end sets. Tight end has become more important to the Texans with their defense improving, and the desire to run the ball in the second half with offensive sets that help disguise run/pass more. Departure of Dreessen who was very important to run game, red zone. Owen Daniels isn’t getting any younger, has history of ACL injuries. James Casey’s greatest value to team is as a hybrid, versatile athlete who leads special teams, not as a tight end without a tight end body. If Coby Fleener is available at bottom of the first round, his college performance and measurables suggest that he may be able to do dynamic things in the Texans offense. Tight end may be the best player available at bottom of 1st round. NFL is a game of matchups. The Texans offense isn’t about #2, #3 receivers, but dynamic pass catching playmakers from a variety of positions. Not a deep TE draft. TE is a position for the Texans offense where a player can make an immediate impact–see Owen Daniels’ rookie year. Fleener may be a better TE prospect than the WR prospects available at the bottom of the first. Just because a team can make do with a lower round TE pick, doesn’t mean that a team should pass up a special athlete with a history of performance.

Cons. “Another @#$%^&( tight end! Really!? ” – Texan fan. Tight end is not considered a premium position in the draft, and lower round picks can be contributors, see e.g. Daniels, Dreesen. Pick tight end in the first and you have pressure to make starter. Quite possible that backup Garrett Graham would be a good contributor if given the opportunity given some flashes in games and his increased understanding of the playbook. Are some intriguing prospects in lower rounds who could have a chance to develop without as much pressure to start. Wide receiver is a greater priority given that the Texans had difficulty having enough players last year to run four receiver sets. Fleener isn’t such a special player you forgo greater needs.

Trade-up/Trade Down.

This is also an option, of course. You may feel that the best values are higher if you think that is where playmakers can be found, and the team wishes to take advantage of the top of the first round salaries going down with the new CBA. You may feel the best values are lower, if you think in the positions the Texans need, they can find good value for their schemes in the second and third rounds, and are more likely to hit with more players to choose from.

35 Responses

If Dont’a Hightower is available, you can have the best of both worlds. Ideally he wins the starting ILB job over Sharpton and stuffs the run in your base formation. When he comes off the field in the dime package, you can give him some reps at OLB in order to give Barwin or Reed a breather.

If one the starting OLBs gets injured, you could play him outside full-time and move Sharpton back into the starting lineup at ILB.

So while I generally agree that ILB isn’t a premium position (we only had two ILBs on the field for 60% of our snaps last year), Hightower’s versatility makes him an intriguing option.

I like Coby Fleener because he has elite speed for a tight end. I hear he has poor blocking skills, but the Texans pay coaches to fix that.

I remember back in 2009 watching the NFL Network breaking down the previous weeks games. This is when the defense seemed so much better than before. They consistently harped on Demeco Ryans for not getting deep enough in zones. It was no surprise when Wade Phillips took him out on passing downs. I am not too sad to see him go with that contract, but would have liked more in return. Let’s hope the draft picks produce. He was a natural leader.

Either a Wr or OLB would be great additions in the first round. The Wr position is deep. It might behoove the Texans to go pass rusher to replace Mario first and then find the WR who is comparable to some Wrs they can draft in the first round with that second pick. Here is my list from best to worst in my opinion and draft value from some experts mixed. Rounds 1 and 2.

Enjoy your post as always, thanks again for the time and effort. My 2 cents worth is strictly an opinion, I do not do all the research others probably do, so there is my disclaimer.

I would like to beleive we could pursue the best available player and value at 26 at one of the positions, WR, OL, OLB, DL, CB. I am hopeful we can resign Dobbins or someone of equal or better value for depth and sign some others for the above positions after the draft and during preseason, especially OL and OLB. The depth would help us next year since we have players in those positions that will need to be resigned.

If we get a windfall, an unexpected player drops to us at 26 that all the experts say would be gone, and if he fits our team, then I would take him. I would take Wright from Baylor if he is there or Konz(sp) as an example. I believe both are quality players and can make an impact but I don’t believe we have to target a specific person at 26. I don’t think we will trade up but could see us trading back a several spots to the 2nd for additional picks.

I think TE will be later in the draft since this seems to be a well established pattern with Kubiak. However, Fleener is an interesting option that could turn into a terror for the defense, but likely would have to be that windfall I mentioned earlier. Late rounds I wouldn’t mind if we drafted the kicker from A&M I don’t know if we will be able to resign Rackers

All in all I think we have a lot of good options to look at when we get our turn. I do not believe we should be in panic mode because of who we have or have not signed, traded, or released, that is life in the NFL that we must deal with. Sad to see some go, but understand. Sorry if I rambled a bit. So that is my 2 cents worth, if it makes sense, lol.

I went to Georgia Tech and I WOULD NOT draft Stephen Hill in the first round. His sophomore year was abysmal, he dropped every pass thrown his way. His junior year started off better, but he still managed to drop several sure touchdown passes, a few with him wide open. He’s physically gifted, and worth a chance in the third or fourth (where he was originally projected). But, there’s no way I would risk a first on a possible bust.

I went to GT, too, and while it’s true that Hill had some dropping problems, it’s not like he had Andrew Luck throwing passes to him. The ducks that Tevin Washington and Josh Nesbitt threw would make it tough to catch much at all.

GT in the house. It’s funny to me what alums have to say about draft picks. The alums who were most excited about Texans picks: Alabama fans for DeMeco Ryans and Wisconsin fans for J.J. Watt. Those alums showed up right away on the blog after the draft.

Of all the players that might be available at 26, the only one that I think will be dynamic for his position is Coby Fleener. The other players left would be guys you could get in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. I don’t care what “fans” think. Like you mentioned, Daniels has two major knee injuries on his resume and is up for a big raise next year.

I’d love to see Kendall Wright fall to us at 26, but I have a hunch he is going earlier than that. I just don’t trust Stephen Hill at this point, and the Texans usually don’t draft guys just based off of measurables, which is basically the only reason Hill has a 1st round grade.

I’ve begged for a WR opposite Andre for the last three years, but I would take Dontari Poe for our defense, faster than you can blink. Establish our running game and play defense. That is going to be our greatest formula. But a little speed opposite #80 will open the field for the entire offense.

Leaning Fleener because you can’t teach height. At 6’6″ he’d be a great Red Zone weapon and he’s got very good speed. He adds a new dimension to the offense that needs some youth. Plus, he went to Stanford so picking up the offense shouldn’t be that difficult.

I hope they go Fleener in the first. Outside of Floyd and Blackmon the WR spot is littered with question marks. Is Wright the right fit in Kubiaks system? Is Hill despite his physical tools too raw? Or will they even be available at 26? Rueben Randall doesn’t excite me as a 1st round pick.
I know the Texans have Graham and Casey, but Fleener seems legit. Especially with his size and speed….seems like the right match for the Texans especially with all their 2 TE sets.

On another note do you feel there’s any validity to the rumor of Texans trading Tate their first round and another for the Browns 4th?

Any Tate trade rumors don’t make sense to me. And they got quiet quick after being first made. Tate is relatively inexpensive, knows the system, an important position given the beatings that running backs take. If the Browns want a back, then draft a back that you will have more years with before becoming a UFA.

Well, I want that QB from Baylor 😉 I think Phillips works better with ‘high motor, team first’ players and he seems to have all he needs (not wants, of course). I’d like to see the Texans focus on a BIG, powerful offensive lineman. Even though the running game has improved, Texans QB’s spend way to much time getting big hits under their chin.

P.S. Is this what’s its really like on the blogs after your team has made the playoffs ? While it is fun to win during the season, it sure eliminates most of the fun of griping and complaining and mainly my expert advise during the offseason 😉

Did we not spend a 4th on him and wasn’t he and Anthony Hill, who was injured, but in the end neither have ever seen the field.

Isn’t the reason we even have the &^#&%&# Another tight end talk these two guys one being Graham who I have seen nothing out of but good things, though in preseason, to say he can’t be OD 3.0? They look like the same guy one’s just younger and one’s smarter.

Wasn’t he supposed to be photo copy OD?

Well he hasn’t see the field and in preseason he looked to run fluid routes, have soft hands and more importantly, no offense OD, but less scars on his knees than edward scissor hands.

It’s a matter of opportunity. Dreessen got the number 2 TE reps. He had a bit of injury issues at times, but yeah, Graham has looked promising in very short period of time. As I’ve mentioned before, one of the reasons why the 2006 draft class had such a big impact is that many were able to get early opportunities and made the best of them. It’s all about opportunities, health luck and then just being the player they saw when they drafted them.

Thank goodness for you and LZ otherwise there would be no thoughtful Texans discussion at chron.com.

I smell a trade back at 26, maybe for a late 1st and a 2nd or 3rd round pick. What do the value charts say? What can we realistically expect to receive for the 26th pick?

What we don’t know is what the coaches think of Andre Caldwell, Daryl Sharpton, Brandon Harris, Roc Carmichael and Garrett Graham. Those evaluations will go a long way towards dictating draft strategy this year. I think teams that are rebuilding will go BAA but I think the Texans are at a point where filling needs is more critical. I am pretty certain they think Butler can step in at right tackle.

I think the first three picks, not necessarily in this order, will be WR, ILB and DE. Then a guard/center type in the 4th, a TE in the 5th and BAA from there.

Thank you. I could see trading back if there isn’t a special player at 26…I think there’s some good values in the second and the third round for the types of players that the Texans value for their offensive and defensive schemes. Personally, I really do want BPA. If you can find a draft guy who projects better than one of your starters, I’d prefer that than just plugging a hole. Despite all these people picking WR in Texans mocks, there really are some choices with what to do with the pick given the Texans needs for depth. I think that the Texans system doesn’t demand a high round WR pick–that many types of WRs could excel in the system as long as they have good hands, smart, good route runners. They don’t have to be able to demand double coverage–that is just handy.

Steph,
I always enjoy reading your postings. Although I don’t often get a chance to write, I try to stay on top of the latest news of my favorite NFL team.
I believe the coaches and front office people already know who their ‘Guy’ is at 26. If he is not there, it would not be a surprise to me if they traded the 26th pick and our 7th rounder to Miami for their 2nd round (42) and one of their 3rd rounders (73). Everyone believes that Tannihill is not worth an 8th pick … but he may be worth a 26th. This trade would give us 2 in the 2nd, 2 in the 3rd and 2 in the 4th .. not to mention our 5th and 6th. We need depth more than anything else and a 2nd rounder can play an important role just like Reed did last year.
I would enjoy seeing us draft:

Does it matter who they draft especially once they become studs The Texans will find a reason not to pay them and start The process of building through The draft once again. It’s funny how that never gets mention but McNair isn’t cheap so what is The reason why we let our draft picks walk when it’s time to pay up. Every team needs a mixture of old and young so it appears The organization was just trying to make it to The playoffs to get fans off their backs so getting to The Super Bowl isn’t important as long as we keep interest high only to raise ticket prices after ten years of losing but a sucker is born every minute they say.

I sure hope you’re miserable attitude stops with football and doesn’t carry over into other areas of your life. Don’t make those kind of takes without understanding the business side of the game. Every move the Texans have made this offseason has been defensible, albeit unfortunate. Sure we’d of loved to have kept Winston/Brisel/Ryans but the reality of the situation is the organization had to make some very tough decisions for 2012 and beyond. Don’t be so pessimistic, Texans are going to be a very serious threat for an AFC Championship for the next several years. May as well support the boys on Kirby and enjoy the ride.

Chris, stop being the Texan fan that makes the rest your brethern look bad. While I never make a habit of defending this team, your comments make no sense. Who do you think the Texans should have signed that they watched sign with someone else? Mario? They did the absolute right thing letting him go to Buffalo. That’s a position they are strong at and can draft depth at a fraction of the price.

The positions the Texans have been woefully poor at drafting are the secondary assignments. They determined that they had an opportunity to win so they signed two of the best available and it helped facilitate a defensive transformation this past year. Unfortunately, it also put them in a pickle going forward as far as the cap goes. On the bright side, the injuries of this past year revealed a bounty of roster depth so the salary cap problems might not be as bad as you think. But accusing them of being cheap shows you aren’t astute when analyzing this football team.

The Texans are very close to the point where they start drafting the next guy instead of the guy – in other words, the future starter instead of the starter. I like to consider the positions that the team has drafted and developed well vs. those they haven’t done as well when looking at draft strategy.

On defense, Houston has gotten most of their DB and DL talent from free agency rather than drafting – Joseph, Manning, Smith, and Cody were all free agent signings. Watt was a great draft pick, Quin seems to have developed well, and Jackson is still a question mark. Meanwhile, all of the linebackers are solid Texans draft picks at the very least.

Most of the offense is built upon the draft – I consider Foster like a draft pick. Noteable exceptions are Schaub, Myers, Walter and Smith. Thanks to Yates performance last year, it appears the Texans can develop QBs. They also seem to have done well with RBs and linemen.

So what position to pick? Do you use high picks on positions that have been less successful and hope talent wins out? Do you hope for new guys like Joseph to help better develop players? As much as I would love to upgrade the talent at WR, I think I’d stick with higher draft picks on defense and fill in the offense with lower picks. They also need to look at next year’s free agent group and maybe draft a couple “next” guys.

I’d look at linebacker first. It’s one of the easier positions for a guy to step in and produce, the Texans draft / develop LBs well, and they had two major losses at the LB positions. Plus linebackers can contribute on special teams.

The Texans are in that rare position that everyone wants to be in: they truly are in a position to draft best player available. I think the guiding question has to be “How long is our window?” If you think the window is short, don’t bother with a wide receiver because even the best wide receivers don’t contribute much during a rookie year. I’d focus on a position that can impact during the rookie season- like linebacker.

No one has enjoyed chiding the Texans more than me in past years but you have to hand it to the Texans during the Kubiak era when considering the draft- especially the premium picks. No team gets it right all of the time- Ron Wolf, Bill Pollian, and even The Hoodie have been wrong over the years. But the Texans have instituted a policy- all first rounders must start- which seems simple but has served them well. I wish Jerry Jones had a similar policy which would have prevented the wasted pick on Felix Jones.

The cynical will point to Kareem Jackson and the 14-year old d-tackle who didn’t pan out, but if you look at the Texan roster, drafting in the first round is something they do well. I remember a year ago predicting that JJ Watt would be a flop and a bad pick. I would also take this moment to admit I was way off on that one. He was far more athletic than I would have predicted after watching him at Wisconsin.

Towards the end of the first round, it’s hard to find an impact starter where the Texans could actually start someone. Most of the wide receiver talent has been rated second or third round talent. Now, I don’t really know for certain, because I haven’t watched a lot of college football.

The other 2 positions that stand out are nose tackle, and those guys aren’t there in the late first round and fullback, which is an extinct position in college football. So either trade back or BPA looks like the downstream paddle route.

I would like a first round pick who is good enough they could compete for the starting position day 1. This likely means a position with a quicker learning curve. I would like the JJ Watt of first round picks…that was some magic, wasn’t it?